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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Enabling the Acquisition of Electron Beam-Induced Current (EBIC) Images in Conventional SEM and STEM Instruments

Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging is a well-established scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique used to analyze the behavior of microelectronic devices including solar cells. Recently, the application of EBIC imaging in an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) has been demonstrated and offers great potential for the in situ study of electronic materials, correlating charge transport properties to atomic structural and elemental information. Here, this work presents two ways to implement EBIC imaging in conventional SEM and STEM systems: one relying on the instrument's inherent scanning and imaging electronics and the other involving third-party systems usually available in electron microscopes. The implementation of lock-in EBIC in systems equipped with a fast beam blanker is also described. In addition, this work shows and discusses the different mechanisms at play in EBIC imaging and their dependence on beam energy, sample impedance, and electrical measurement configuration, providing researchers with the basic information needed to apply the technique to their research.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Contrast Mechanisms in Secondary Electron e-Beam-Induced Current (SEEBIC) Imaging

Abstract Over the last few years, a new mode for imaging in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) has gained attention as it permits the direct visualization of sample conductivity and electrical connectivity. When the electron beam (e-beam) is focused on the sample in the STEM, secondary electrons (SEs) are generated. If the sample is conductive and electrically connected to an amplifier, the SE current can be measured as a function of the e-beam position. This scenario is similar to the better-known scanning electron microscopy-based technique, electron beam-induced current imaging, except that the signal in the STEM is generated by the emission of SEs, hence the name secondary electron e-beam-induced current (SEEBIC), and in this case, the current flows in the opposite direction. Here, we provide a brief review of recent work in this area, examine the various contrast generation mechanisms associated with SEEBIC, and illustrate its use for the characterization of graphene nanoribbon devices.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Si-Substituted Spirobifluorene Hole-Transporting Material for Perovskite Solar Cells

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have shown promise for next-generation photovoltaics. Here, this study presents a simple approach for enhancing the performance and stability of PSCs by substituting the center carbon atom of the common hole transport material (HTM) Spiro-MeOTAD with a silicon atom. This modification, termed Si-Spiro, results in an increased hole mobility. A density functional theory simulation indicates that the enhanced hole mobility is due to the structural change of Si-Spiro. Electron beam-induced current microscopy measurements indicate improved charged extraction at the Si-Spiro/perovskite interface. A power conversion efficiency of 22.5% is achieved in Si-Spiro-based PSCs, outperforming standard Spiro-MeOTAD. Additionally, Si-Spiro-based PSCs demonstrate enhanced stability, maintaining over 90% of performance over 120 h of one-sun operation. Depth-profiling X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that Si-Spiro effectively blocks metal ion migration, which contributes to its enhanced stability. The findings suggest that Si-Spiro could be promising a HTM for high-performing, stable PSCs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

First-Principles Simulation of Beam-Induced Processes Underlying Atomic Manipulation in Electron Microscopes

The development of experimental methods and apparatuses capable of promoting atomically precise material manipulations holds great promise for realizing the ultimate limit of feature miniaturization in materials and devices. The ability to modify materials atom by atom is anticipated to usher in new technologies in areas as diverse as separation science, medicine, and quantum information science. Historically, scanning probe-based techniques have been the most prominent approaches in this space. However, these methods are best suited for the manipulation of surface-exposed regions of materials, as the strong perturbations required for bond scission are delivered most effectively to atoms in the near-proximity to the scanning probe. In contrast, convergent electron beams with energies tuned slightly below the threshold for inducing irreversible knock-on damage have recently been employed (within scanning transmission electron microscopy) to promote atomic-scale bond rearrangements in various beam-stable solids. Currently, however, the efficiency and selectivity of beam-induced atomic manipulation processes with focused electron beams are such that long irradiation times are required to induce a desired atomic rearrangement. With a better understanding of the underlying physics dictating the outcome of a given irradiation event, methods can be devised to improve the efficiency of these techniques so that their promise can be fully realized through widespread adoption.To this end, this Account details our recent efforts to develop and apply tractable first-principles simulation approaches for studying the response of materials to electric beam-like external electric potentials applied in real space. We briefly review the concepts and capabilities in the area of atomically precise materials manipulation and review the early demonstrations of accomplishments in this area, focusing on studies using scanned convergent electron beam probes in particular. We expound upon the depth of the challenge and identify critical shortcomings of theoretical methods that have previously been employed in the simulation of beam-induced processes. We then describe the computational methods that we have generalized from the concepts and tools most commonly applied to the study of molecular photochemistry and how our adaptations of these methods can be employed to capture the relevant dynamical phenomena for beam-induced processes ranging from the initial electron scattering to the ensuing multistate reactions. Here, we contextualize these methods within the current state of the art in this area, which has historically focused primarily on the simulation of inelastic image formation in the electron microscope for the purpose of interpreting the results of quantitative electron microscopy experiments. We demonstrate that the spatial distribution of state-specific excitation rates due to the presence of an external (probe) electric charge is inhomogeneous, such that irradiation at particular locations in materials can favor specific electronic transitions (and disallow others). In addition to the potential for excited-state reaction pathways to be accessed through the initial inelastic scattering of the tightly focused electron beam from the targeted atoms, we also identify favorable conditions for the electronically nonadiabatic evolution of the highly vibrationally excited system to open complex multistate reaction pathways. Implications of the early results for understanding the mechanisms and potential routes to improved efficiency and selectivity in beam-induced reactions are discussed. We conclude with a summary of the current state of theory and modeling capabilities in this area and provide our perspective on future directions for theoretical and experimental developments that we view as crucial to advancing the use of convergent electron beams in mode-specific, atomically precise platforms for direct-write materials modifications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Selected Area Manipulation of MoS 2 via Focused Electron Beam-Induced Etching for Nanoscale Device Editing

Here we demonstrate direct-write patterning of single and multilayer MoS 2 via a focused electron beam-induced etching (FEBIE) process mediated with the XeF 2 precursor. MoS 2 etching is performed at various currents, areal doses, on different substrates, and characterized using scanning electron and atomic force microscopies as well as Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies. Scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals a sub-40 nm etching resolution and the progression of point defects and lateral etching of the consequent unsaturated bonds. The results confirm that the electron beam-induced etching process is minimally invasive to the underlying material in comparison to ion beam techniques, which damage the subsurface material. Single-layer MoS 2 field-effect transistors are fabricated, and device characteristics are compared for channels that are edited via the selected area etching process. The source–drain current at constant gate and source–drain voltage scale linearly with the edited channel width. Moreover, the mobility of the narrowest channel width decreases, suggesting that backscattered and secondary electrons collaterally affect the periphery of the removed area. Focused electron beam doses on single-layer transistors below the etching threshold were also explored as a means to modify/thin the channel layer. The FEBIE exposures showed demonstrative effects via the transistor transfer characteristics, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. While strategies to minimize backscattered and secondary electron interactions outside of the scanned regions require further investigation, here, we show that FEBIE is a viable approach for selective nanoscale editing of MoS 2 devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modulating Electron Beam–Sample Interactions in Imaging and Diffraction Modes by Dose Fractionation with Low Dose Rates

Abstract Technological opportunities are explored to enhance detection schemes in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that build on the detection of single-electron scattering events across the typical spectrum of interdisciplinary applications. They range from imaging with high spatiotemporal resolution to diffraction experiments at the window to quantum mechanics, where the wave-particle dualism of single electrons is evident. At the ultimate detection limit, where isolated electrons are delivered to interact with solids, we find that the beam current dominates damage processes instead of the deposited electron charge, which can be exploited to modify electron beam-induced sample alterations. The results are explained by assuming that all electron scattering are inelastic and include phonon excitation that can hardly be distinguished from elastic electron scattering. Consequently, a coherence length and a related coherence time exist that reflect the interaction of the electron with the sample and change linearly with energy loss. Phonon excitations are of small energy (<100 meV), but they occur frequently and scale with beam current in the irradiated area, which is why we can detect their contribution to beam-induced sample alterations and damage.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Luminosity and beam-induced background studies for the Cool Copper Collider

A high-energy electron-positron collider has been widely recognized by the particle physics community to be the next crucial step for detailed studies of the Higgs boson and other fundamental particles and processes. Several proposals for such colliders, either linear or circular, are currently under evaluation. Any such collider will be required to reach high lumimosities, in order to collect enough data at a reasonable time scale, while at the same time coping with high rates of background particles produced from beam-beam interactions during the collisions. In this paper, we analyze the luminosity and beam-beam interaction characteristics of the Cool Copper Collider ( C 3 ) and perform a comparison with other linear collider proposals. We conclude that C 3 can reach the same or higher collision rates as the other proposals, without having to cope with higher beam-induced background fluxes. Thus, C 3 emerges as an attractive option for a future electron-positron collider, benefiting from the collective advancements in beam delivery and final focus system technologies developed by other linear collider initiatives. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Evaluation of the beam-induced depolarization of the HJET target at the EIC

The Polarized Atomic Hydrogen Gas Jet Target (HJET) has played a central role in the absolute calibration of proton beam polarization at RHIC and is foreseen as a key component of the hadron polarimetry program at the future Electron–Ion Collider (EIC). The substantially higher beam current, reduced bunch spacing, and shorter bunch length planned for EIC operation motivate a careful reassessment of possible beam-induced depolarization of the jet target. In this paper, the depolarization of ground-state hydrogen atoms caused by the time-dependent magnetic field of the circulating polarized proton beam is quantitatively evaluated. The hydrogen atom is treated as a four-level hyperfine system in a holding magnetic field, and transitions driven by harmonic components of the bunch-induced magnetic field are analyzed using time-dependent quantum-mechanical evolution along atomic trajectories. Numerical tracking of hydrogen atoms through the beam region is performed using nominal EIC beam parameters. It is shown that, for a holding field of 120 mT (as used at RHIC), the resulting depolarization of the jet target at the EIC is negligibly small, ≲ 0.01 %, and well below the level relevant for EIC polarization accuracy requirements. The stability of this result with respect to plausible variations of the EIC proton beam parameters is also evaluated. In addition, possible effects under alternative experimental conditions are also examined.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Simulated Detector Performance at the Muon Collider

In this paper we report on the current status of studies on the expected performance for a detector designed to operate in a muon collider environment. Beam-induced backgrounds (BIB) represent the main challenge in the design of the detector and the event reconstruction algorithms. The current detector design aims to show that satisfactory performance can be achieved, while further optimizations are expected to significantly improve the overall performance. We present the characterization of the expected beam-induced background, describe the detector design and software used for detailed event simulations taking into account BIB effects. The expected performance of charged-particle reconstruction, jets, electrons, photons and muons is discussed, including an initial study on heavy-flavor jet tagging. A simple method to measure the delivered luminosity is also described. Overall, the proposed design and reconstruction algorithms can successfully reconstruct the high transverse-momentum objects needed to carry out a broad physics program.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Eliminating beam-induced depolarizing effects in the hydrogen jet target for high-precision proton beam polarimetry at the electron-ion collider

We analyze beam-induced depolarizing effects in the hydrogen jet target (HJET) at the relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC), which has been used for absolute hadron beam polarimetry and shall be employed at the electron-ion collider (EIC). The EIC’s higher bunch repetition frequencies and shorter bunch durations shift beam harmonics to frequencies that can resonantly drive hyperfine transitions in hydrogen, threatening to depolarize the target atoms. Using frequency-domain analysis of beam harmonics and hyperfine transition frequencies, we establish a photon emission threshold above which beam-induced fields are too weak to cause significant depolarization. For EIC injection (23.5 GeV) and flattop (275 GeV), beam-induced depolarization through the bunch structure renders operation at the current RHIC magnetic guide field at the target (𝐵 0 =120⁢ mT) untenable. Increasing the magnetic guide field at the target to 𝐵 0 ≈ 400⁢ mT moves all hyperfine transition frequencies to at least 3 times the cutoff frequency, ensuring reliable absolute beam polarimetry with the required 1% precision at the EIC.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Pulsed-Beam Transmission Electron Microscopy and Radiation Damage

Here, we review the use of pulsed electron-beams in transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) for the purpose of mitigating specimen damage. We begin by placing the importance of TEMs with respect to materials characterization into proper context, and we provide a brief overview of established methods for reducing or eliminating the deleterious effects of beam-induced damage. We then introduce the concept of pulsed-beam TEM, and we briefly describe the basic methods and instrument configurations used to create so-called temporally structured electron beams. Following a brief overview of the use of high-dose-rate pulsed-electron beams in cancer radiation therapy, we review historical speculations and more recent compelling but mostly anecdotal findings of a pulsed-beam TEM damage effect. This is followed by an in-depth technical review of recent works seeking to establish cause-and-effect relationships, to conclusively uncover the presence of an effect, and to explore the practicality of the approach. These studies, in particular, provide the most compelling evidence to date that using a pulsed electron beam in the TEM is indeed a viable way to mitigate damage. Throughout, we point out current gaps in understanding, and we conclude with a brief perspective of current needs and future directions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Characterization of fluorite-structured ferroelectrics using transmission electron microscopy: Techniques, challenges, and recent advances

Fluorite-structured ferroelectrics, such as hafnium oxide and its alloyed variants, are key candidates for next-generation memory devices. Yet, fundamental questions about switching mechanisms, domain dynamics, and phase evolution remain open. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provides unique capabilities to address these challenges by simultaneously resolving the positions of anions and cations, chemical variations, and structural transformations. Recent advances—including in situ heating, electron beam-induced switching, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and differential phase contrast imaging—have revealed critical insights into phase transitions, potential switching pathways, and oxygen vacancy behavior. However, experimental barriers such as TEM sample-preparation-induced artifacts, high coercive fields, and imaging constraints persist, especially for polycrystalline films. By offering a focused overview of current TEM developments in fluorite ferroelectrics, this work outlines how TEM contributes to understanding key phenomena and proposes a roadmap for future studies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

The CMS Phase-2 Fast Beam Condition Monitor prototype test with beam

The Fast Beam Condition Monitor (FBCM) is a standalone luminometer for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) program of the CMS Experiment at CERN. The detector is under development and features a new, radiation-hard, front-end application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for beam monitoring applications. The achieved timing resolution of a few nanoseconds enables the measurement of both the luminosity and the beam-induced background. The ASIC, called FBCM23, features six channels with adjustable shaping times, enabling in-field fine-tuning. Each ASIC channel outputs a single binary asynchronous signal encoding time-of-arrival and time-over-threshold information. The FBCM is based on silicon-pad sensors, with two sensor designs presently being considered. This paper presents the results of tests of the FBCM detector prototype using both types of silicon sensors with hadron, muon, and electron beams. Irradiated FBCM23 ASICs and silicon-pad sensors were also tested to simulate the expected conditions near the end of the detector's lifetime in the HL-LHC radiation environment. Based on test results, direct bonding between the sensor and ASIC was chosen, and an optimal bias voltage and ASIC threshold for FBCM operation were proposed. The current design of the front-end test board was validated following the beam test and is now being used for the first front-end module, which is expected to be produced in summer 2025. These results represent a major step forward in validating the FBCM concept, first version of the firmware and establishing a reliable design path for the final detector.

Beam-line instrumentation (beam position and profi↗
DOE OSTI2025

Design of the EIC hadron storage ring stripline injection kicker with a novel impedance tuning capability

The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), to be built at Brookhaven National Laboratory, will be a high luminosity (~10 34 cm –2 s –1 ) nuclear science facility. To facilitate EIC experiments, the existing yellow ring of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) will be reconfigured to serve as the Hadron Storage Ring (HSR). Designing a stripline injection kicker for the HSR beams, with high magnetic rigidity (~ 82 Tm), poses some technical challenges due to the required large pulsed voltage with long flattop duration, very fast rise time, expected shorter bunch spacing, and potential heating due to higher peak current. In addition, minimizing impedance mismatch in the transition region between the feedthrough and the stripline electrode is challenging. This paper focuses on the mechanical design and optimization of the HSR injection kicker, highlighting a novel impedance tuning capability achieved through an innovative kicker aperture adjustment mechanism. We comprehensively cover the design, including impedance optimization (both beam coupling and characteristic), beam-induced heating, and thermal analysis, and investigation of the maximum electric field due to high voltage signal excitation to ensure safe and reliable operation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-Entropy Alloy R&D for Accelerator Beam Window Applications

High-Entropy Alloys are a class of novel material that can offer improved resistance to beam-induced radiation damage and thermal shock. Development of these new alloys to serve as beam windows in multi-megawatt accelerator target applications is ongoing at Fermilab. Currently we are investigating AlCoCrMnTiV alloy systems of 4-6 components for service as beam windows; these compositions are predicted by CALPHAD simulation to have a low density and single-phase BCC crystal structure. The microstructures of these systems are being studied by electron microscopy techniques such as energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to determine elemental homogeneity and composition, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to quantify grain structure and orientation, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to observe defect structures and precipitate formation; nanoindentation is used to probe microstructural mechanical properties. Initial bulk property characterization utilizes differential scanning calorimetry to quantify specific heat capacity (cp), dilatometry to determine the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) to measure thermal conductivity (K). A miniature tensile testing apparatus is also being developed to test tensile properties. Post-irradiation examination is currently ongoing for several of these compositions that have been irradiated by low-energy ions to damage levels and at a temperature relevant to beam window applications at future next-generation accelerator facilities. This talk will briefly describe the alloy design and synthesis before going into more depth covering microstructural pre-characterization, and post-irradiation examination results from low-energy ion irradiated specimens. This will be followed by the plans for alloy down selection and future prototypic proton irradiations.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

High-Entropy Alloys for Accelerator Beam Window Applications

Development of novel high-entropy alloys (HEAs) is currently underway for potential use as beam windows in future multi-megawatt target systems at Fermilab. HEAs encompass a new class of materials with a vast design space allowing for material properties to be tailored for particular applications and to potentially offer improved resistance to beam-induced radiation damage and thermal shock effects. The alloy systems being studied consist of several compositions of AlCoCrMnTiV with 4 6 component elements. These alloys are all predicted by CALPHAD simulation to have a single-phase BCC crystal structure and low density, with some compositions displaying ordered, nanoscale precipitates. This presentation will briefly discuss alloy design and synthesis before giving a detailed description of the characterization studies of these HEAs in both the pristine state and post-irradiation by low-energy heavy ions to high damage levels. Electron microscopy techniques to quantify elemental homogeneity and composition, determine grain size, shape, and orientation, and quantify lattice parameters, defect structures and precipitate phases are all being used to study alloy microstructures. Mechanical properties of the alloys at the microscale will be reported. The evolution of these properties as a function of radiation damage will also be described. Bulk thermal characteristics of these HEAs have been tested to measure specific heat capacity and coefficient of thermal expansion as a function of temperature. To determine bulk tensile properties a miniature tensile testing apparatus is under development; it s commissioning will be covered briefly. The talk will conclude with our plans for alloy down-selection.

Burleigh, A. [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measurements of Electron Beam-Induced Spin-Relaxation in Frozen-Spin Hydrogen-Deuteride (HD)

Targets of solid hydrogen-deuteride (HD) can be prepared in a frozen-spin state with spin relaxation times (T1) in excess of a year. The present work has studied their potential use in experiments with electron beams. Polarization relaxation rates have been measured during exposure to sub-nanoAmp currents of 9.7 MeV electron beams from the recently commissioned Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) at Jefferson Lab (JLab). These UITF measurements can be used to anticipate the expected performance at the GeV energies typical of JLab experiments, since the energy deposition in a target is almost independent of beam energy. An in-beam dilution refrigerator equipped with superconducting solenoids has been used to maintain solid HD samples at ?0.1 K and ?1 tesla, and internal NMR coils have been used to monitor hydrogen polarization. Spin-relaxation in two frozen-spin targets, with initial H-polarizations of 40% and 34%, have been tracked while exposed to beams under varying conditions of current, dose, beam duty factor and temperature. At a fixed accumulated dose, the spin-relaxation rates drop with current, suggesting depolarization by the charge cloud of the beam. Imposing a duty factor on the otherwise continuous UITF beam, with forced millisecond scale gaps, has shown no obvious correlation to polarization loss rates. After an accumulated dose of ?2 ?C/cm2, beam-off spin-relaxation rates drop from their immeasurably long pre-irradiation values to the order of weeks (with beam-on T1 values typically an order of magnitude shorter), reflecting a buildup of paramagnetic charge centers within the HD lattice. The accumulated polarization loss was approximately proportional to dose in both targets, dropping to 1/e of their initial values after ?6 ?C/cm2. Thermal equilibrium polarizations of targets not in the frozen-spin state (with intentionally short T1) have been used to deduce the in situ temperature of solid HD while under electron bombardment. A model for depolarization by beam-associated paramagnetic impurities largely accounts for the data, and suggests that improvements in heat removal could lead to significant increases in the in-beam T1.

O'Connell, Thomas↗